Cutting the Curve, an RNZ docuseries, is Sāmoan-Kiwi Isabella Moore’s honest and vulnerable account of navigating the fashion industry as a Pasifika and curve model.
Opera singer-turned-model Isabella Moore’s career rose alongside the body positivity movement of the past decade. In 2019, she moved to London to model full-time.
Isabella signed on to front Cutting the Curve, a six-part docuseries following the rise of body inclusivity within the industry…
That was, until the movement unfortunately proved to be just a trend, and tokenistic attempt at real inclusion.
Directed by award-winning director Julia Parnell and produced by fashion journalist Evelyn Ebrey, the series then changed tack.
“Originally, the concept for the doco was quite different. Back then, the modelling industry seemed to be embracing more diverse types of beauty,” says Isabella.
“But when fashion ‘reverted back’, we realised the story we’d be telling was going to look a little different.”
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that mainstream beauty standards, often through a Western lens, is glorifying skinny as the standard of beauty once again.
Is ‘Thin is In’ Back?
As “heroin chic” and “thin is in” messaging has permeated on mainstream and social media again in 2022, the fashion and wellness industry have gone back to its old ways.
That stark reality hit curve and plus-size models like Isabella, because all of a sudden, they’re not booking as many jobs as they used to.
She didn’t get booked on a single show for this year’s London Fashion Week’s Fall Winter Season.
Desperate for work, she considered losing weight might just be the solution to walk the runway.
Ultimately though, she decided against it.
“At the time, I wasn’t asking myself: What do I think? Believe? Value? I was just desperate to fit in, to get work and probably get outside validation,” says Isabella.
“This one body, in this one life, is a gift and it’s too precious to mess around with just because it doesn’t fit someone else’s beauty standards.”
‘Wellness’ Pressure
The series, which was filmed across New Zealand, London and New York, calls out how society quickly backslid when it got the chance to lose weight quickly – hello Ozempic.
In Manhattan alone, three-in-one people use Ozempic, according to Dr. Jahangir Rahman, an internal medicine specialist in New York.
And he goes on to say that in the US, it’d be about one-in-10 or 15.
In a scene, Isabella scrolls through endless Reels on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, before looking up Wegovy – which is basically like Ozempic, and is now available to consumers in New Zealand.
Isabella’s advice: “If your doctor hasn’t prescribed it, I don’t believe you need it. These drugs were created for people whose health depends on them, not for cosmetic purposes.
“Health should be the number one focus. Don’t let the ‘skinny is back’ pressure dictate what you do with your body. There is nothing wrong with you, the issue is with the industry.”
Concerns of plus-sized models losing weight were also raised by Felicity Hayward, a curve model and body positivity activist in the UK featured in the series.
She booked a show in the London Fashion Week Fall Winter Season this year, and found a significant drop in plus-sized models.
Out of roughly 4,000 models a season, she says plus-size model numbers fell from 46 in 2024 to 23 in the Fall/Winter shows this year. And, she claims, many were about half their former size.
And to add to that, out of the 12,790 looks across NY, London, Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks, only 81 were worn by plus size models – 0.63%!!!
Felicity poses the question: Did they lose the weight because they wanted to? Or did they succumb to the pressure from the industry?
‘Sacrificing my Cultural Pride’
In breaking into the fashion industry, Isabella represents not only curvier bodies but also her Sāmoan heritage – another challenge on its own.
“My biggest battle centres around the guilt I’ve felt about looking ambiguous and how I’ve had doors open for me because I kind of fit into the Western beauty standard.
“As I say in the documentary, I believe if I looked more Sāmoan, I wouldn’t have the career I have today. The industry is still failing to include what we think of when we describe true Pasifika beauty.”
Being a Polynesian woman can seem irrelevant in the industry, she says, even though it’s something she is deeply proud of.
“At times, I’ve felt I had to sacrifice my cultural pride when navigating the industry,” says Isabella.
“My Sāmoan taulima tatau (wrist tattoo) has been viewed by some brands as undesirable, [and has been] edited out of the final images, or even resulting in me not being booked again.
“It is hard when my tatau holds a lot of meaning for me and it is viewed in a negative way.”
No Such Thing as ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’ Bodies
This documentary made it clear to Isabella that the fashion industry has a kindness problem.
“It has forgotten that fashion is for people and there are many different types of people in this world – none more or less deserving to wear clothes that are stylish and fit,” she says.
“I hope that the fashion industry begins to view bodies neutrally so that there’s no longer this idea that there are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ bodies.
“At the end of the day: bodies aren’t trends.”
Modelling is a job Isabella loves, she gets to travel, work with creatives and meet talented people. And practically, it is her livelihood after all! “I need to pay the bills!”
But she admits that she also finds herself questioning why she remains in an industry that is at odds with her values.
“I have hope [the fashion industry] can change. I want to continue showing up for women who feel seen when they see me and my curvy body out there and feel empowered in their own bodies to take up the space they deserve.
“I hope that one day I can also open doors for other Pasifika people so that our type of beauty can truly be represented, included and celebrated in the industry.”
You can watch Cutting the Curve on RNZ video. Banner Photo by Julie Zhu.
